1. Field of Invention
The field of the invention relates to marking paint lines on street surfaces. The invention will be used primarily for construction and maintenance purposes, and particularly, but not limited to freeway, highway, street maintenance and construction. The invention consists of a parallel spacing guide (and method) that when attached to a hand-held marking device (spray gun) enables the user to mark an accurate and consistent extended line one to four feet from a curb, wall or other vertical surface.
2. Description of Prior Art
Marking extended lines in an accurate and consistent one to four foot distance from a curb or other vertical surface along a road or highway has been achieved by butting a template against the said vertical surface and marking a line against it with an aerosol paint can, spray gun or paint brush. This process is repeated over and over until the desired length of the line is finally achieved. This repeated bending process is tedious, tiring, time consuming, and may result in back pain.
Another method that has been employed is using a chord or string line; where the desired distance is measured from the curb or wall at both extreme ends of the string or chord and third person then paints over the string or chord with paint and subsequently a line is marked on the ground by the paint that naturally exceeds over the sides of the narrow chord or string. The problem with this process is that it requires three (3) people bending over and measuring; and requires a significant amount of time.
There are devices that have been used to mark traffic lane stripes on streets and highways; and there are spray guns used to mark lines on streets for the purpose of laying out intended work. These devices all require the user to first measure out the line of work, and then use the device to mark the already laid out line.
In the prior art no method has been devised to allow one person to mark an accurate and consistent extended line on the ground one to four feet from a curb or other vertical surface without having to continually stop, measure and bend over to mark. There presently exists no such low cost, light weight, compact, easy to use spacing guide for use with a hand-held marking device which can very quickly and accurately mark lines on street surfaces.
The invention relates to a parallel spacing guide used for marking an accurate and consistent line one to four feet from a curb or vertical surface. The invention is comprised of a rigid body consisting of crossing or intersecting members to provide rigidity, a pole attached to said rigid body to be used as a handle necessary for easy and accurate drawing, a guide wheel attached to said rigid body for rolling against the face of a curb or other vertical surface providing an accurate and continuously consistent distance between curb and line being marked, and two or more parallel street wheels attached at the bottom of rigid body. The first said parallel street wheel is positioned in front and the second said parallel street wheel positioned in back; to provide stability, cause the afore mentioned guide wheel to lay perfectly perpendicular against the curb at all times, and keep the invention rolling parallel to the curb with ease while marking the extended line.
A further object of the invention is to allow the user to mark an accurate and consistent extended line where there is no curb or vertical surface to roll against. This is achieved by attaching a pointer to the bottom of the guide wheel mentioned above. The said pointer drags along the ground from the stationary center of the guide wheel and is used as a visual guide.